The first season of Cheyenne is now available on DVD, but it
is not an accurate representation of what the groundbreaking series became.
In fact, the first season was so maligned, that there almost wasn't a
second.

Cheyenne
premiered in September of 1955, the same year as Gunsmoke first
appeared. But Gunsmoke began as a half hour show, which meant
that Cheyenne had the distinction of being the first hour long TV series
in history.

Hopalong
Cassidy, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry had all preceded Cheyenne,
but it was Cheyenne that launched the era of Westerns on TV,
which peaked in 1959 when the networks aired over thirty oaters in one
season. Before Cheyenne became a success, however, some changes
had to be made.

In what
turned out to be his last major interview, the late great TV writer and
creator Roy Huggins spoke with me at length (inTV Creators, Vol 2) about his career, and his early
days at Warner Brothers Television.

During
Cheyenne's first season, the title character (played by Clint
Walker) had a sidekick (L.Q. Jones), and, according to Huggins, the storylines
were more geared to kids than adults. Monsanto and other sponsors not
only threatened to pull their ads, they threatened to sue Warner Brothers
if changes weren't made to the new Western show.

That's
when Warner executive Bill Orr begged Roy Huggins to leave Columbia and
take over Cheyenne. Huggins' first order of business was to drop
sidekick Jones. Roy also turned Cheyenne Bodie into a no nonsense loner,
and made the story lines more serious.
After righting the Cheyenne ship, Huggins moved on to create
Maverick, which was James Garner's first starring role.

Huggins
also created a number of other shows for Warners, including 77 Sunset
Strip, before leaving to create The Fugitive. In the 1970's
Roy reteamed with Garner, when he created The Rockford Files.
Huggins other series included Baretta and Hunter.

But Roy's
work on Cheyenne helped to redefine the TV Western, not only
by proving that an hour series was viable, but by opening the door for
other non traditional heroes such as those featured on Wanted Dead
or Alive, The Rifleman, and Have Gun Will Travel.
Huggins is also credited with not only saving Cheyenne, but Warner
Brothers Television and ABC along with it.

Ironically,
Huggins did such a good job on Cheyenne that Clint Walker's success
created contract battles with the studio. Walker was constantly having
to make personal appearance tours, and Warners was raking in all of the
proceeds.

That
arrangement, coupled with long work weeks, caused Walker to bolt the series
in 1958, and stay out of work until he returned the next season. In his
absence, Walker was replaced by Ty Hardin as Bronco, and after Clint's
return, Bronco and Sugarfoot (starring Will Hutchins)
alternated with Cheyenne for the weekly time slot.

Walker
went on to appear in motion pictures such as The Dirty Dozen, Night
of the Grizzly, and The White Buffalo, and he starred in the short-lived
TV series Kodiak. But
it will be his masterful characterization as Cheyenne Bodie for which Walker
will best be remembered.

Meanwhile,
Walker, Garner, Warner Brothers, and ABC all owe Roy Huggins a debt of
gratitude, and we as fans are richer for Roy's many TV creations.